OUR MISSION: TO WELCOME, CARE FOR, AND INSPIRE |
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MVUU Connected: The Season of Waiting |
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Let's celebrate the Project Management Team! Click the image above to watch a video about our PMT
and the completion of our building renovations.
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Table Grace
by Alan Harris, MVUU Member
We deeply offer our thanks
to the Deepest of Thankables
and our abiding love
to the Most Abiding of Lovables
as we gather here
in grace under grandness
humbly to eat of the earth
so that ripplings of renewal
may nurture and empower our
sweetly imperative lives.
May the sustenance we now
receive within ourselves
enable us to give out
more than we possess
as our lungs and souls
breathe more than is air
on our chosen journey
into more than we know.
We honor the One within us
while dwelling within the One.
Amen.
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Weekly Online Calendar
Stay Connected this Week...
Sunday, November 29
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Sunday Book Group Online: Hosted by John Clark - 8:15 am - 9:50 am
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Sunday Service Online: "Advent: The Season of Waiting," Led by Rev. Bethany Russell Lowe and the Baja 4 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MVUUCongregation.
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Fellowship Hour Online: 11 am Join Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87417804295. You can also join by phone: dial (253) 215-8782 and enter the Meeting ID: 874 1780 4295 when prompted.
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ICS Food Pick Up: Bring non-perishable food donations to drop off 12 - 2 pm
Wednesday, December 2
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Night Bloom: Midweek Meditations with Rev. Samantha Wilson and Shekela Wanyama. 7 pm Service, 7:30 pm Fellowship. Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88169411576 Meeting ID: 881 6941 1576
Saturday, December 5
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Card Party: Holiday Card Party to People in Detention, from 2 to 3 pm. Email Mary Hoover at mary.hoover@mvuu.org for the Zoom link and to be added to the invitation list.
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Now's the time to think about...
MVUU Leaders & Candidates
Do you know a future MVUU leader? Maybe you are a future MVUU leader?
The Nominating Committee needs your help! We are currently identifying candidates for MVUU President, Treasurer, Board Member and for the Endowment and Nominating Committees to begin serving terms, July 1, 2021.
Next year's leaders will be leading us through an important transition: returning to in-person services on the heels of a pandemic, a changing cultural and political climate, moving through our interim tasks with Rev. Samantha, and then searching for and welcoming a new settled minister. We welcome those of you who feel inspired to navigate these changes and opportunities as well as your insight as to the up-and-coming leaders whose visions we should be paying attention to.
Please forward your recommendations for needed 2021 leadership positions as well as potential leaders by Friday, Dec 11, to: RKS46@aol.com.
Barb Seyfried, Nominating Committee Chair
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Be part of the solution!
at the Interfaith Community Services ICS Food Pick Up
November 29, 12 - 2 pm
This Sunday, ICS will have a truck packed at our new church to receive your food donations. They will continue to do this each month and perhaps more often until we meet in our new church.
Here's what we need:
- Peanut butter (14 oz. jar)
- Spaghetti sauce/ pasta
- Meals in a can, chili, ravioli, etc.
- Canned meats, tuna, chicken
- Breakfast cereal
- Rice/dry beans
- Stuffing mix
- Instant potatoes
See you at MVUU, 3235 W Orange Grove Road!
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Night Bloom: Midweek Meditations at MVUU
Wednesday, Dec 2 & 16
7 - 7:30 pm Contemplative Service
7:30 - 8 pm Fellowship
First and Third Wednesdays - through December 2020, Co-Hosted by Rev. Samantha, Shekela Wanyama, and the Pastoral Associates
The seasons are changing and so many things pull at our attention. Join us for Night Bloom: services of contemplative music, story, reflection, and fellowship. The services are thirty minutes long (7 - 7:30 pm) and occur live over Zoom. An optional fellowship time (7:30 - 8 pm) will follow each service. All are welcome!
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CARD PARTY INVITATION!
Saturday, Dec 5, 2 pm
This year of Covid has kept many of us from celebrating with others, but we have a way to help you get your holiday cheer on! Join us for a Zoom Holiday Card Party, Sat, Dec 5 from 2 to 3 pm. Wear your Holiday sweater, twinkling lights, or an ornament in your hair and let's celebrate! We will also have music and holiday remembrances from special guests.
At the same time we are celebrating, we will send hope and encouragement to those who are alone and locked up, unable to celebrate with friends and family -- immigrants who are currently detained at Eloy or La Palma detention centers. All you need are ten holiday cards and envelopes. At the Zoom party, we will write holiday messages. You can mail the cards all in one envelope to an address we will give you, or we will pick them up from you, if in the greater Tucson area.
To participate, just send your email address in an email labeled Holiday Card Party in the subject line, to mary.hoover@mvuu.org, and she will put your name on the invitation list and send you some card tips for this occasion.
Come on – join us! We are going to party and do good all at the same time. Please let us know if you are participating by Dec 1. We will send you the Zoom link and details before Dec 5. Thanks. See you soon!
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Sing the Spirit!
Thursday, Dec 10, 6:30 pm
Join Shekela for "Sing the Spirit," a meeting to explore and experience music that engages the mind and nourishes the spirit. On Dec 10, Sing the Spirit will feature Dr. Celestino Fernández on corridos with songs from the borderlands.
Also: Hear great music at Night Bloom on Wednesday evenings with Charlie Welty (bass & guitar), Anaida Carquez (singing bowls), and other invited guests.
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Conversations on Sensitive Topics:
Overcoming Barriers to Understanding Different Views
Saturday, Dec 19, 9:30 am
Saturday, Jan 9, 10 am
Does it ever feel like everyone is shouting to be heard and no one really feels understood? Hearing each other can be even harder in this political climate and during the holiday season.
We hear you asking for how to listen and respond when there are differences. You are invited to join us to practice skills to bridge differences and reveal common goals. Let's move towards more engaging conversations with new and old friends and, of course, family.
Join Rev. Samantha and Ministerial Intern, Rylee, for two sessions, one in December, right before the holidays and another in January! This class is open to all Baja 4 congregations.
Two Sessions (Just in time for the holiday!)
Dec 19, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm
Jan 9, 10 am - 12:00 pm
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Youth Religious Exploration Tree of Gratitude
Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions for our tree!! It was a pleasure to read and create this for our entire congregation.
Stacie Sosa, RE Assistant
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It's Arizona School Tax Credit Time
Please take part in MVUU’s support for two neighborhood schools with your AZ School Tax Credit. Since 2008, members of our congregation have united to direct the ASTC contributions to Davis and Laguna Elementary Schools in the Flowing Wells School District. The two schools use these funds for extracurricular purposes that include field, art, music, skills for success, technology reading and other activities. Such activities would not be available to these children if it weren't for ASTC contributions.
Your contribution of up to $400 per couple or $200 per individual, provides a tax credit to be applied to your AZ 2017 taxes. This is a tax CREDIT! Not a tax deduction! The Flowing Wells School District will mail you a confirmation to use for tax credit on your AZ Taxes. For IRS Info on School Tax Credits: CLICK HERE.
Please send your checks, payable to Flowing Wells School District to Bill Casey at 4633 E. Via Pimeria Alta, Tucson, AZ 85718.For further information, contact him at wcaseyiii@yahoo.com or call (520) 310-7004. Bill will complete the necessary forms and take the contributions to the district office.
The program is truly a win/win situation. We urge your involvement.
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Sunday Book Group Online
Sunday, Nov 29, 8:15 am
On Sunday, November 29, we will begin discussing our new book, A World Without Work: Technology, Automation and How we should respond by Daniel Susskind.
"Daniel Susskind demonstrates, that breakthroughs in artificial intelligence mean that all kinds of jobs are increasingly at risk. Drawing on almost a decade of research in the field, Susskind argues that machines no longer need to think like us in order to outperform us, as was once widely believed. As a result, more and more tasks that used to be far beyond the capability of computers – from diagnosing illnesses to drafting legal contracts, from writing news reports to composing music – are coming within their reach. The threat of technological unemployment is now real. This is not necessarily a bad thing, Susskind emphasizes. Technological progress could bring about unprecedented prosperity, solving one of humanity’s oldest problems: how to make sure that everyone has enough to live on. The challenges will be to distribute this prosperity fairly, to constrain the burgeoning power of Big Tech, and to provide meaning in a world where work is no longer the center of our lives."
We’ll be reading this book through the end of 2020.
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November Woven Basket Partner:
EMERGE, Center Against Domestic Abuse
Emerge gives direct help to those who are in abusive situations. They believe “ that together, we can build a community where every individual lives free from abuse.” They give immediate help through a hot line, and emergency shelter. Ongoing help includes supporting survivors with their physical emotional needs. They normally accept donations of money and goods specific to each family. They are currently sponsoring a special event, Holiday House.
How to Donate: You can make your donations online at http://mvuu.org/donate/ or by sending check to the Church Office. The mailing address is: MVUU, P. O. Box 91080, Tucson AZ 85752. Please indicate that this donation is for the "Woven Basket."
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Wherever you are, there is a Caring Hearts Circle for you!
Covid-19 continues to prevent us from meeting together! Join a Caring Hearts Circle to connect, strengthen, and expand ties within our congregation. Circles meet weekly or bi-weekly via Zoom at a variety of times to support members during the Covid-19 period so that we can be together even as we are physically apart.
To Join or find out more, contact:
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MVUU's Pastoral Care Team: We Are Here For You
All contacts are handled in a confidential manner. We are here when support is needed to help you. We are here to care about your pain, grief, uncertainty and even to help find additional support.
Reach out. Be loved. Contact Pastoral Care today to share how you are.
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Let Technology Help you Give
1) If you want to donate using the Internet, there's a quick and easy way. Click the link below for step-by-step instructions.
2) To give using your phone, you can easily text your donation by dialing 520.447.4730. Just text the amount you want to give and a note where you want the money to go (i.e. Donation, Wooden Bowl).
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MVUU Photo Directory
For Login Directions & Information
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Newsletter deadlines: The next newsletter will be published Dec 4. Submit articles to editor@mvuu.org by 12 pm, Monday, Nov 30. No Exceptions. Articles may not exceed 250 words. Thank you.
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